Member Article

Yorkshire Dales gastro-inn reopens after £600,000 renovation creating 15 jobs

A 300-year old, listed pub in North Yorkshire has reopened this month after a two-year renovation programme by a Yorkshire-based hospitality group, bucking the current trend of pub closures in the UK.

The Green Tree Inn, in the village of Patrick Brompton, near Bedale, has been brought back to life by Leeds-based luxury pubs group Crazy Rabbit Inns, and will create 15 full and part time jobs. The gastro-inn with 48 covers, and four guest rooms that are due to open in Spring 2024, will be the group’s second hospitality venue.

The company was founded by Yorkshire entrepreneur Collette Sunderland who bought the Green Tree Inn in 2021 after it had been closed for several years and fallen into disrepair.

Following a painstaking £600,000 restoration process that involved the complete refurbishment of the 18th century building, including the replacement of its stone-tiled roof, the pub has now reopened, with a 48-seat restaurant serving dishes that use locally sourced ingredients, cooked in wood-fired ovens.

Collette Sunderland said: “To say we have restored this old pub to its former glory would be an understatement. We have stripped this Grade II-listed, and very dilapidated building back to its bare bones and reimagined it as a perfect, cosy Dales pub, with superb food.”

She added: “The Green Tree is in an excellent location and the local residents have been following our progress closely, and we’re excited to welcome them back. We have also been receiving enquiries about accommodating local shooting parties, as well as from visiting parents of students who are boarding at the nearby Aysgarth prep school. Our guests can expect roaring fires, fabulous food and a warm welcome from our great team of local staff.”

Led by group GM Sam Harrison, the Green Tree restaurant only uses locally-sourced seasonal produce and the pub serves ales from local breweries including Wensleydale, Theakston and Black Sheep. Specially commissioned works by Yorkshire artists are hung throughout the bar and restaurant.

Crazy Rabbit Inns was founded by Sunderland in 2021. She acquired an interest in the Blue Lion Hotel at East Witton in 2022 and is undertaking an investment programme to update its rooms and modernise its kitchens.

The Green Tree Inn is the second gastro-inn to be launched by the group and the company plans to create a portfolio of luxury establishments across the north of England, providing high quality food and accommodation.

“Crazy Rabbit is bucking the trend that saw some 400,000 British pubs close in the first six months of this year alone,” said Sunderland.

“There is a clear demand for the right sort of historic pub, offering outstanding food, wines, Beers and rooms in the right location, and we hope to build on our success with further investment and gastro inn openings from this Easter onwards.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Robinson .